Jurgen Klopp set to hand Philippe Coutinho his first Liverpool start of the season against Burnley this weekend
The Liverpool boss says the Brazilian "should be ready" as he looks to adjust his starting XI in the absence of Sadio Mane
PHILIPPE COUTINHO will dive straight back in to Premier League action as Jurgen Klopp will reportedly work him into his starting XI for Saturday.
The Reds' boss believes the playmaker is ready to start following his comeback on Thursday in the 2-2 Champions League draw against Sevilla.
According to the Mirror, Klopp is eager to build up Coutinho's minutes following his return from injury which also corresponds with his need to re-jig the starting XI in the absence of Sadio Mane.
Speaking at his press conference of Friday Klopp said: "You can build up, you can get minutes when you start.
"It's not the moment I talk about the line up, but he should be ready."
The wantaway midfielder was cited as having a back injury that kept him out of the Reds' first six matches of the season, but his returned off the bench in the Champions League match was met by a warm welcome from the Liverpool fans.
Klopp acknowledged the positive response: "I was really happy with how the crowd welcomed him, for him it was good.
"He has trained outstanding since he's back, The game was not perfect of course, but that's how it is after a long break - it helped him and helped us.
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"For sure, we're ready to think about him [playing against Burnley]."
Having their star midfielder back will come as a relief for Liverpool who will be without the reigning Player of the Year, Mane, for the next three games following his red card in the 5-0 thrashing against Man City.
Klopp's side struggled last season without the Senegalese forward on the pitch, with their win percentage dramatically decreasing when he was sidelined with injury for the latter part of the season.
But the German is confident he has the depth to adjust and succeed in his absence.
"We knew there would be moments when Sadio wouldn't play or should not play, that's why we built the squad.
"We have options - Roberto, Philippe can play there of course and Alex can play there. We can change the system. we can do a lot of things."
With Coutinho's appearance in the Champions League on Thursday he became cup-tied which will reportedly postpone Barcelona's pursuit of the 25-year-old.
He now looks set to stay at Anfield for the remainder of the season.
